Published: Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 11:43 p.m.

Flooding and cold weather earlier this month in some of the state's major crawfish-farming parishes have dealt a blow to the supply just as Mardi Gras gets under way.

How badly it might curtail supplies or how much it will affect prices depends on who you ask.

Mudbugs were available at various stores, seafood shops and restaurants Saturday around Houma. Rouses, for instance, was selling boiled crawfish at its St. Charles Street grocery for $3.99 a pound. If you preferred to dine in, 1921 Seafood restaurant on Barrow Street was selling them for $6 a pound.

In some of the hardest-hit areas, farmers are reporting their catches are down 30-50 percent, said Stephen Minvielle, director of the state's Crawfish Research and Promotion Board.

Up to 20 inches of rain fell in major crawfish-producing parishes, including Iberia, Acadia and St. Martin, overtopping levees and allowing crawfish to swim away. The floodwaters also allowed fish to swim into ponds and prey on crawfish.

In addition, the repeated cold snaps may have made crawfish sluggish or triggered a molt — the shedding of old shells to make way for new growth. That has diminished catches in crawfish ponds.

Minvielle, who farms in New Iberia, said he recently ran about 1,200 cages in his ponds and only pulled in about 105 pounds of crawfish.

"That's about 30 percent of what I usually pull in," he said.

The drop in catch has reached the point where some farmers may not be able to afford to fish, said David Savoy, president of the Louisiana Crawfish Farmers Association.

Before the storms earlier this month, things were looking up. The supply had been strong, and the crawfish were a good size.

Minvielle said he's hopeful things will improve before next weekend.

With Mardi Gras kicking off that weekend in Houma and the Super Bowl Feb. 3, there are sure to be many people boiling crawfish.

Savoy, who farms in Church Point, said he was hit less hard by the weather. But he said he can tell the supply is down as calls to his farm looking for crawfish have picked up.

He said he's expecting prices to go up and supply to go down in the weeks ahead. The most abundant crawfish will likely be on the smaller side, he added.

"If the catch stays where it's at, the demand is going to outstrip the supply," he said.

Minvielle was more optimistic. While the season may not get off to a great start, he said he hoped the supply would start to pick up with the sunny weather.

"The words ‘banner' and ‘abundant' aren't going to apply this year," he said. "But the beautiful sunshine helps. When you walk out in that sunshine and your battery gets recharged — that's what it does for the crawfish."

It's still only January, he added, and there's plenty of time left in the season for farmers to recover.

Last year's wetter summer and a relatively warm and wet winter helped farmers, and some retailers say they are seeing the effects.

"I'm buying 150 to 200 sacks a day," said Ricky Phillips, owner of Phillips Seafood in the Iberville Parish community of Bayou Pigeon. "This time last year and the year before, I was buying 30 or 40."

He said he's paying farmers and fishermen $1.50 to $1.75 a pound compared with $3.50 to $4 a year ago. Sacks usually run 30-40 pounds.

Prices generally drop as the season progresses, but most say it's too early to predict how prices will fare over the course of the season.

The lower January prices won't necessarily show up as big savings in restaurants and stores, but consumers can expect to find crawfish more easily. Some sellers said they held prices down last year even though they were paying more for crawfish.

"Even if we're paying $4 for them, we can't go over $4.99" a pound for boiled crawfish, said Kenan Buchert, owner of Kjean Seafood in New Orleans. He said that's his price now, and it was the same this time last year, when the crustaceans were all but impossible to get. He's charging $2.95 a pound for live crawfish, also the same as last year.

<p>Flooding and cold weather earlier this month in some of the state's major crawfish-farming parishes have dealt a blow to the supply just as Mardi Gras gets under way.</p><p>How badly it might curtail supplies or how much it will affect prices depends on who you ask.</p><p>Mudbugs were available at various stores, seafood shops and restaurants Saturday around Houma. Rouses, for instance, was selling boiled crawfish at its St. Charles Street grocery for $3.99 a pound. If you preferred to dine in, 1921 Seafood restaurant on Barrow Street was selling them for $6 a pound.</p><p>In some of the hardest-hit areas, farmers are reporting their catches are down 30-50 percent, said Stephen Minvielle, director of the state's Crawfish Research and Promotion Board.</p><p>Up to 20 inches of rain fell in major crawfish-producing parishes, including Iberia, Acadia and St. Martin, overtopping levees and allowing crawfish to swim away. The floodwaters also allowed fish to swim into ponds and prey on crawfish.</p><p>In addition, the repeated cold snaps may have made crawfish sluggish or triggered a molt — the shedding of old shells to make way for new growth. That has diminished catches in crawfish ponds.</p><p>Minvielle, who farms in New Iberia, said he recently ran about 1,200 cages in his ponds and only pulled in about 105 pounds of crawfish.</p><p>"That's about 30 percent of what I usually pull in," he said.</p><p>The drop in catch has reached the point where some farmers may not be able to afford to fish, said David Savoy, president of the Louisiana Crawfish Farmers Association.</p><p>Before the storms earlier this month, things were looking up. The supply had been strong, and the crawfish were a good size.</p><p>Minvielle said he's hopeful things will improve before next weekend.</p><p>With Mardi Gras kicking off that weekend in Houma and the Super Bowl Feb. 3, there are sure to be many people boiling crawfish.</p><p>Savoy, who farms in Church Point, said he was hit less hard by the weather. But he said he can tell the supply is down as calls to his farm looking for crawfish have picked up. </p><p>He said he's expecting prices to go up and supply to go down in the weeks ahead. The most abundant crawfish will likely be on the smaller side, he added.</p><p>"If the catch stays where it's at, the demand is going to outstrip the supply," he said.</p><p>Minvielle was more optimistic. While the season may not get off to a great start, he said he hoped the supply would start to pick up with the sunny weather.</p><p>"The words 'banner' and 'abundant' aren't going to apply this year," he said. "But the beautiful sunshine helps. When you walk out in that sunshine and your battery gets recharged — that's what it does for the crawfish."</p><p>It's still only January, he added, and there's plenty of time left in the season for farmers to recover.</p><p>Last year's wetter summer and a relatively warm and wet winter helped farmers, and some retailers say they are seeing the effects.</p><p>"I'm buying 150 to 200 sacks a day," said Ricky Phillips, owner of Phillips Seafood in the Iberville Parish community of Bayou Pigeon. "This time last year and the year before, I was buying 30 or 40."</p><p>He said he's paying farmers and fishermen $1.50 to $1.75 a pound compared with $3.50 to $4 a year ago. Sacks usually run 30-40 pounds.</p><p>Prices generally drop as the season progresses, but most say it's too early to predict how prices will fare over the course of the season.</p><p>The lower January prices won't necessarily show up as big savings in restaurants and stores, but consumers can expect to find crawfish more easily. Some sellers said they held prices down last year even though they were paying more for crawfish.</p><p>"Even if we're paying $4 for them, we can't go over $4.99" a pound for boiled crawfish, said Kenan Buchert, owner of Kjean Seafood in New Orleans. He said that's his price now, and it was the same this time last year, when the crustaceans were all but impossible to get. He's charging $2.95 a pound for live crawfish, also the same as last year.</p><p>This story includes information from The Associated Press.</p>